Raymond was a quiet, pale boy. At night he would walk for hours, around the edge of the lake, past the ruins of the castle, down streets and alleys. Sometimes he would walk down the centre of the town, where kids his age would be sitting in the square smoking cigarettes. He needed to go down the highstreet to get to the park. He would keep his eyes on the pavement hoping they wouldn't notice but nearly always one or two would ride up on bikes and block his path. 'Where are you going, Raymond?' they'd ask. They were boys from his school. 'I don't know,' he'd answer, which was the truth. Then they would take the piss out of him in some way or other, maybe about his very plain-looking clothes or his long, wispy, uncut hair. He found that if he just looked down and didn't say anything they would get bored and leave him alone. He wasn't scared of the boys. He didn't understand them but he never felt scared by them either. It was the girls that scared him. The girls didn't speak, they just looked at him. He could feel their eyes following as he walked past, on his way to the park. Sometime he would look over and catch a glimpse of them. Their hair was shiny and their clothes were tight fitting, showing off their small, developing breasts. They would smoke cigarettes and chew gum and laugh at the boys on the bikes. Sometimes, a boy and a girl would be kissing and Raymond tried hard to imagine what it felt like. He could never picture himself talking to those girls. They looked down on him, perched like queens, following him with their empty soulless eyes. As he got to the top of the park and looked down the path, where it blended into the orangey blackness at the bottom of the hill, he would breathe a sigh of relief, free from those scary, shiny girls. It was a summer night, still light at eight o' clock, and Raymond was walking down the path and into the park. He walked slowly, in no hurry. Trees lined the edges of the path, casting grey shadows which twitched at the branches shook, and he turned left at the bottom, cut across the grass and over to the lake. There was something about the lake which fascinated him. It's black water spread out before him, bigger than a football pitch, would churn and crash as if just for him. Most nights he wouldn't see another person in the park and if he did, they would walk quickly through, unaware of the lake and its magic water, dancing and shaking. He sat down on his bench, the one nearest to the water. It was a still night, the only sounds came from the road which cut between the park and the castle - a faint hum of cars. He sat and waited for it to get dark. An hour passed. Then he heard something, it sounded like a cough, and a rustling in the tall grass behind the bench. He looked over his shoulder and made out a small silhouette walking towards him. He froze. It didn't look like one of the boys from his school, the shoulders weren't broad enough. It moved with grace, almost floated and as it got nearer he could see it was a girl, about his age, dressed in jeans and a black buttoned shirt. Her face was pale and round and her hair was black and messy, the same deep black as her shirt. He couldn't move. She had him pinned with her eyes. They sparked in the dusk like no other eyes Raymond had ever seen. She reached his bench and sat down next to him, her slim figure just slightly smaller than his. He realised that his mouth was hanging open. He closed it. Up close, her eyes were even more intense. He couldn't tell if they were red or blue or green or anything. They shone like lamps, lighting up his soul. He managed to break away from them and looked down at the grass, his heart racing. Despite this, he didn't feel scared. He knew, somehow, that she wasn't like the girls in the square or the girls in his school. They sat in silence for a few minutes. The longer it went on, the less strange it felt and slowly Raymond began to feel at ease again. He glanced quickly at the girl and then back down at the floor. She was looking out at the lake and a pale light from somewhere was shining on her cheek. Her skin was pure and smooth. Her lips were pink and small and curled in a smile. He looked at her again, longer this time, and she turned her head to face him - eyes shooting out fire. His heart pounded. She was pretty, magic, perfect. She started laughing. He looked at the floor, confused. 'You look so scared,' she said. Raymond tried to think. He wasn't scared. He wasn't sure what he was. 'I like your eyes,' he said. 'Thank you.' She smiled wider and jiggled her legs, swinging her feet. Raymond smiled too. Every nerve in his body was tingling. He felt different, burning with excitement. 'You seem sad,' she caught his eye, piercing him. He nodded. He told her about his school, about the boys and girls and how he felt different to everyone. As he told her, it all fell away from him, he didn't care anymore. She smiled again. 'What's your name?' he asked. She didn't answer. Instead she reached over and took his hand in hers. It felt very warm. Sparks shot up his arm to his brain. She shuffled up the bench until she was right next to him and he could feel the warmness of her leg, pressing against his. She leant forward, her fire-eyes got nearer until they were burning him, and then she kissed him. His head swam as her hand curled around his neck, under his hair. Her tongue pushed against his lips and he open them and the fire flooded in, like love or sunlight. The lake and the stars and the bench span and they kissed and kissed. He was nothing, a speck of a star in the sky, burned up by this perfect black-haired angel. He brushed her pale cheek with his hand and his thoughts melted like ice-cream .. just love & fire & relief & understanding. They finished kissing and Raymond sighed a long happy sigh. He lay his head down in her soft, warm lap and slept. Raymond woke. His face was touching the rough wood of the bench. He sat up, not sure what time it was. He was cold. The lake was black, the sky dark and star-pricked. He looked at his watch. It was twelve o' clock. He got up and left the park. That night, on his walk home, Raymond didn't feel sad. His legs and arms sang as he walked. He didn't look down at his feet or the pavement. He looked up at the sky and the stars and his mind shone and sparkled with new possibilities.